1 December 2009
Even in spite of the 40+mm of rain that came hurtling down during the night I had a full vehicle of guests who decided to don their ponchos and brave the weather this morning! We were rewarded with a great sighting of the elephant herd, who are much more relaxed and happy now that the first rains have provided them with plenty of food! At first we only had visual of the young male who tends to lag behind the breeding herd. We watched him knock down a tree on the road in front of us. The rest of the herd were busy feeding in the middle of a block. We could hear them but not see them. So we decided to go to a hide at a nearby dam to briefly dry off and have a much needed hot chocolate in the hope that during this time they would slowly make their way out. It was a beautiful setting for our break and the birds and frogs were in full verse. And we were lucky enough to see some jackal pups playing! Sure enough when we got started again after our hot chocolate and found the elephants all huddled together in an open clearing. Tonight we had a great sighting of our dominant male lion. We have not seen him for a few days as he has been in the reeds in the river mating with one of the lionesses. But it would seem that the honeymoon ended today. We followed him along the road as he roared and marked his territory. He was looking quite lean – clearly his priority has not been eating! As we turned the corner there was a herd of impala nearby. He began to stalk them and then made a half hearted attempt to capture one. On this occasion he was unsuccessful but perhaps we will be lucky enough to see him with a kill tomorrow morning……watch this space.
Story by: Sarah Sangster-Kapama River Lodge Ranger’